One of the simplest methods of recording and communicating information is the traditional method of writing the information down on a piece of paper with a writing instrument such as a pen. Writing information by hand on a piece of paper is inexpensive and can be done quickly and easily with little preparation. The traditional method is also flexible in that a writer can generally write in any format anywhere on the page. One of the limitations with handwritten work is that it is not easily manipulated or transferred to other contexts. In other words, changing or transferring a piece of handwritten text typically requires rewriting the text on another medium.
With the widespread use of personal computers, textual information often is recorded using word processing software running on a personal computer. The advantage of such electronic methods of recording information is that the information can be easily stored and transferred to other remote computing devices and electronic media. Such electronically recorded text can also be easily corrected, modified, and manipulated in a variety of different ways.
Typical computer systems, especially computer systems using graphical user interface (GUI) systems such as Microsoft WINDOWS, are optimized for accepting user input from one or more discrete input devices. Common input devices include a keyboard for entering text and a pointing device, such as a mouse with one or more buttons, for controlling the user interface. The keyboard and mouse interface facilitates creation and modification of electronic documents including text, spreadsheets, database fields, drawings, and photos.
One of the limitations with conventional GUI systems is that a user must generally type the text they are entering into the personal computer using the keyboard. Entering text using a keyboard is generally slower and more cumbersome than handwriting. Although recent advances have been made in reducing the size of personal computers, they are still not as portable and easily accessible as traditional paper and pen. Furthermore, traditional pen and paper provide the user with considerable flexibility for editing a document, recording notes in the margin, and drawing figures and shapes. In some instances, a user may prefer to use a pen to mark-up a document rather than review the document on-screen because of the ability to freely make notes outside of the confines of the keyboard and mouse interface.
To address the shortcomings of traditional keyboard and mouse interfaces, there have been various attempts to create an electronic tablet that can record handwriting. Such electronic tablets typically comprise a screen and a handheld device that is similar to a pen (also referred to as a stylus). A user can use the pen to write on the electronic tablet in a manner similar to the use of traditional pen and paper. The electronic tablet can “read” the strokes of the user's handwriting with the handheld device and render the handwriting in electronic form on the tablet's screen and/or the computer's display as “electronic ink”. This electronic tablet approach can be employed in a variety of ways including, on a personal computer and on a handheld computing device.
Recently, other computer systems have been developed that provide for more sophisticated creation and manipulation of electronic ink. For example, a conventional software application permits one to add electronic ink to a document. The application stores the ink and provides it to a user when requested. Other applications (for example, drawing applications associated with the Palm and PocketPC operating systems) permit the capture and storage of drawings. These drawings include other properties associated with the ink strokes used to make up the drawings. For instance, line width and color may be stored with the ink. One goal of these systems is to replicate the look and feel of physical ink being applied to a piece of paper.
Replicating the look and feel of physical ink requires computer systems that work with electronic ink to handle this electronic ink differently than traditional electronic text and images that can be displayed on a display device. Unlike word processors that handle only one or two types of page objects such as text and images, computer systems that work with electronic ink usually need to handle multiple types of page objects that can include bit map images, drawing objects, and outline objects. Each outline object can include one or more nodes where each node can include at least one of text, a picture, and an ink object.
Opposite to computer systems that work with electronic ink having different types of page objects, conventional word processors typically manipulate, and more specifically, select text or images or both by using either a series of key strokes or by using a series of screen pointer commands. For example, some word processors can select the text of a whole document by using keyboard commands such as “control-A”. Other word processors can select a word in a paragraph of electronic text in response to a “single-click” of a mouse device. Further, a whole paragraph of electronic text can be selected in response to a “double-click” of a mouse device. A whole paragraph of electronic text can be deselected in response to a “single-click” of a mouse device if a whole paragraph was previously selected. While these commands for selecting text or images can be useful in conventional word processors, they do not provide for a complete, logical, and simple way for selecting page objects on computer systems that work with electronic ink.
In other words, because of the different page objects present in computer systems that work with electronic ink, there is a need in the art for manipulating, and more specifically, selecting and deselecting page objects in a manner that is unlike conventional word processors. There is a need in the art where the commands for selecting and deselecting page objects are complete, simple, and logical. There if a further need in the art that enables the selection of multiple page objects or all page objects without using a screen pointer such as a mouse or stylus.